Make no mistake about it. The Marlins are in sale mode. Already gone is Giancarlo Stanton and Dee Gordon but the club has some players left and shedding payroll is part of the front office’s mission this winter.
The Marlins have not hid the fact that Marcell Ozuna is available for the right price, and while his name has not been thrown around as much it is assumed that such an offer extends to any team who has interest in Christian Yelich as well.
Ozuna has two more years of team control on his contract and is coming off a monster season that saw him hit .312/.376/.548 with 37 homers and 124 RBI. The 27-year-old has been an All-Star the last two seasons and took home a gold glove this past year as well. There is as many as 8-10 teams interested in adding Ozuna’s production to their lineup but the most aggressive suitors could come in the form of the Cardinals, who lost out on Giancarlo Stanton, and the Rangers.
A year younger and locked up though 2022 with a team option, it had been assumed that Yelich was not a player the Marlins were looking to move. That however appears to be changing and while his production may have taken a slight step back this past year there’s no shortage of teams who would line up to place him in centerfield.
It is easy to see both the Cardinals and Giants having interest in Ozuna and Yelich. Both want to improve their outfield however there are other needs for these teams as well. For one the Cardinals continue to be linked to the Rays’ Evan Longoria and Alex Colome.
Right now it seems highly unlikely that Ozuna would be on the Marlins opening day roster and the chances of Yelich sticking around seem to shrink by the day. By the end of the Winter Meetings both could be in new homes.